Genetic Testing and Genetic Screening

Abstract

The completion of the mapping of the human genome (see Scope Note 17: The Human Genome Project) shifts the spotlight of ethical inquiry from general questions about genetic research to specific issues with such topics as genetic screening. Ethical dilemmas with genetic testing and screening were foreseen over three decades ago by bioethicists who asked whether questionable applications could stop "legitimate pursuits'' (1, Gaylin 1972) and whether genetic disease might come to be viewed as "transmissible'' in the sense of being contagious (1, Veatch 1974).